Skywalker's Praxeum - Malicious Plots
by starkiller21098
Summary: This is Chapter 1 of Malicious Plots, the first book in the Skywalker's Praxeum series. The Jedi's help has been called for from a man governing the small population of humans on Malastare. Several attempts on his life have been made by dug assassins. Will the Jedi be able to find the plot behind these attempted assassinations? Can they avoid getting caught in the feud?
1. Chapter 1

**Malicious Plots**

_Chapter I_

She waited for two hours after retiring to her room for the night. She looked out her window. Everything was pitch black, save the stars twinkling in the night sky. There was no moon that night, to cast its silver light. She strapped on her utility belt and crept into the hallway.

Naiteiri slinked through the halls of Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy on Yavin IV. When she was past the blast doors, and into the entryway, she pressed against the wall, and inched over to the door, avoiding the motion sensors that activated the lights. She punched in a code on the keypad by the door. She waited for the 'click' of the door unlocking, and slid out the door.

When she stepped outside, it was like staring into a vast pool of black ink. She couldn't see a thing. She briskly strode over to the edge of the forest, and used the Force to guide her through the trees. After a few minutes, when she was safely out of view of the academy, she pulled out a glow rod.

It took her less then fifteen minutes of jogging through the trees to reach her destination. "Naiteiri, is that you?" came a whisper. "No, it's Master Skywalker." replied Naiteiri crossly. "Of course it's me, who else would come here to the middle of the forest in the dead of night?" she replied.

"Well, I don't know." replied Garen. Garen was a padawan at the academy, same as her, only he was several years older. "I was beginning to wonder if you got my message," he said. " I'm sorry, really. They stayed up unusually late tonight." said Naiteiri. "It's okay," he said. "You did remember your saber this time, didn't you? You didn't forget it, like last night?"

"Yes, I brought it, and I wish you would stop bringing that up, it was an honest mistake." she said. "Oh yeah? Well I think you purposely left it behind. You didn't want to get beaten by me, like the first night. You didn't want to admit that I'm a better swordsman than you." said Garen, crossing his arms and grinning. "Oh, get off your high horse. I'll prove who's the better swordsman." said Naiteiri as she threw aside her cloak and forced her lightsaber into her hand. Garen ignited his lightsaber with the signature snap-hiss sound of a lightsaber. They crossed their lightsabers, blue against green. "Good luck." said Garen. "To you too." replied Naiteiri.

Both Naiteiri and Garen were sweating, tired, and just wanted to be back in their rooms, asleep in their beds. "Look, Garen. We're both tired. Let's call it a night and head back to the academy. It's three in the morning, so if we head back now, we'll still get a few hours of sleep. We can settle this whole 'who's the better swordsman' tomorrow night." "Agreed," said Garen. "But this is definitely not over. I'll show you who's better tomorrow night, say around the same time?" "You've got a deal." said Naiteiri, clipping her lightsaber to her belt.

"Oh, I think we can both agree not to talk about this tomorrow, and certainly not in front of Luke or Crea." said Naiteiri. "Yeah, and let's not tell Jayde or Jaran, either." said Garen. "Agreed." replied Naiteiri.

Garen went his way, and Naiteiri went hers. They came and went by different ways to lower the risk of anyone finding them meeting together in the night. Part of Naitieri wanted to just drop down and fall asleep on the jungle floor.

She was about half way back when she started to get cold. Really cold, in fact. And it didn't help that it was starting to drizzle. _I really have to remember a thermal cape tomorrow,_ she thought. It was then that she realized that she had left her cloak in the clearing.

She trudged all the way back to the clearing, and grabbed her cloak. By the time she was back at the academy, she was shaking almost uncontrollably, and was completely soaked. Her clock read 3:34, and she had to get up at 7:15.

"Naiteiri, Naiteiri! Wake up, Naiteiri!" Naiteiri woke to her friend Jayde shaking her. "Naiteiri? What is up with you? You're never this hard to wake up. And why are your clothes all damp?" Naiteiri sat up and looked at her clock: 6:30. "Why did you wake me up? It's only 6:30." whined a very tired Naiteiri. "Master Skywalker wants to speak to you, and I told him you'd be there at 6:35, so you'd better hurry. Meet him at the courtyard fountain." said Jayde. "What? I have only five minutes! Why didn't you wake me sooner? Never mind that, just leave so I can get dressed."

Naiteiri was numb with fear, for she was sure that her master had seen her last night, and wanted to give her her punishment. Nevertheless, she quickly changed into fresh robes and hurried to the fountain.

Naiteiri found her master sitting on the edge of the fountain, meditating. She drew a deep breath and approached him. She absolutely dreaded facing him. "Morning, Naiteiri! I trust you slept well?" said her master cheerfully, still half in meditation. _Maybe he didn't see me_, thought Naiteiri hopefully. "Yes, master." she said, sitting down next to him. She had obviously lied, for she was cold and wet when she fell asleep, and she only got three hours of it. Luke opened his eyes, and turned to her. Naiteiri almost flinched.

"Naiteiri, is something wrong?" he asked. "No, nothing's wrong, nothing at all." she said, lying again. "Naiteiri, don't try to deceive me. Tell me, what's bothering you?" he asked again. "Master, there's nothing wrong!" she replied, with a hint of anger in her tone. She hadn't meant for it to come out like that. "Sorry, master."

"We will talk about this later; but for now, I have something to tell you. The council feels that it would be best if you are not on the team that's investigating Fahr's killer." said Luke. "What? Why? He was my master, I can't just not know what happened to him. Why am I no longer allowed on the team?" questioned Naiteiri. "Naiteiri." said Luke, in a tone Naiteiri knew all too well. "I know, I know, feel my anger, and let it go." she said. "Yes. Very good," he replied.

Luke and Naiteiri talked for a while on the cool bricks that surrounded the fountain. Naiteiri never said a word of the previous night.

As usual, Naiteiri, Garen, Jayde, and Jaran sat together at breakfast. "What did Master Skywalker want to talk to you about?" Jayde asked Naiteiri. Garen froze, causing Naiteiri to give him a warning glance. "He told me that I am no longer on the team investigating my master's killer." said Naiteiri. "Oh, so that's why you're all glum" said Jaran. "I'm actually not that upset about it. My master is right, I shouldn't be on the team. He said it would prevent me from doing anything out of anger if I ever came face to face with the person who killed my old master.

"Well then why do you look all sad?" asked Jayde. "I don't look sad. Well, if I do, I don't mean to." said Naiteiri, and forced a smile.

Later in the day, Garen stopped Naiteiri on her way to a training session. "Naiteiri, why _do_ you look so glum?" he asked. She pulled him into a nearby empty room, so no one heard them. "It's my master. I think he may know about me sneaking out last night. When I went to talk to him by the fountain this morning, I was sure he wanted to talk about it, but he didn't even hint about it. He could sense something was up, but I of course denied it. I absolutely hate lying to him. I don't know, Garen, do you think he knows?" she asked. "Well, usually if a master knows something we've done, they wait for us to come to them about it, but they'll usually at least drop a hint about it. So I'd say that if he didn't do that at all, then he doesn't know about last night." said Garen. "Yeah, you're probably right." said Naiteiri.

As Naiteiri was walking to the midday meal, she was stopped by her master. "Naiteiri, I think we should talk." he said. He took her to a meditation chamber. "I want to know what's been bothering you, and why you look so tired today." said Luke. "I already told you, nothing is bothering me. If I look tired, it's because I didn't sleep well last night." said Naiteiri. "You said you slept fine." said Luke. Naiteiri didn't reply.

"I'll let that one go, but come on, Naiteiri, you can tell me anything. Now, what has been bothering you? And don't say 'nothing', because I can plainly see that that isn't true. "Nothing!" said Naiteiri angrily. She stood up, and walked away. She didn't say a word to him the rest of the day.


	2. Chapter 2

Like the night before, Naiteiri waited for all the lights to be turned out. Tonight, she made sure she had a thermal suit on. She strapped on her utility belt, and slowly and quietly crept into the hall.

"Going somewhere?" asked her master, who was leaning on the wall next to her door, facing the doorway. He had been waiting there until she came out. Naiteiri was so startled that she just about jumped backwards. "Master! You frightened me half to death! What are you doing here?!" she exclaimed. "More importantly, what are you doing up after hours?" he replied. "I, um…I, er, am going to use the bathroom." she said. "And you need your lightsaber for that?" "No, I just- all right, since I don't see any possible way out of this… I'm going to meet Garen in the forest. We're kind of in a competition, him and I. We're trying to prove who is better in lightsaber combat." said Naiteiri.

"Why don't you just use the training rooms during the day?" asked Luke. "Because they're boring." "I see," said Luke. "Is this why you have been acting so strange?" " I didn't tell you because I knew you wouldn't be happy with me," she said. "I'm sorry, master; I shouldn't have gotten angry with you. I shouldn't have lied to you." Luke crossed his arms. "You're right, you shouldn't have. But you know what? I have an idea. Let's turn your competition with Garen up a notch. Master against master, padawan against padawan. What do you say?" asked Luke. "You mean you against Crea, and me against Garen?" she asked. "That's right." "Doesn't that seem a little unfair?" "How so?" he asked. "Well, isn't it obvious that you would defeat Crea in like ten minutes? I mean, you're the most powerful Jedi at the academy." "Oh, I don't know, I wouldn't say that." "Come on, master, you know it's true." "All right, maybe. But let's go, we don't want to keep Garen waiting!"

Naiteiri couldn't contain her excitement. She could not believe that her master, Master Luke Skywalker, was not only letting her break the rules, but he was breaking them with her!

"Master?" "Yes?" he replied. "You'll probably want to put on a thermal wrap." "Oh, I'll be fine, don't worry about me." "That's what I thought, but I ended up miserably cold last night." "Naiteiri, I'll be fine." "If you say so." Naiteiri said under her breath. "What's that?" asked Luke. "Oh, I said okay master."

When they arrived at the entryway, Naiteiri told him what he needed to do. "You have to press hard against the wall, and slowly inch your way to the door. Then punch in the access code-" "I know what to do, Naiteiri. If you can believe it or not, I've snuck out of a few places in my lifetime." cut in Luke, with a smile. Naiteiri laughed. "Very well." she said.

Naiteiri went out the door and waited for him to slip out after her. "Do you have a glow rod?" she asked him. "Okay, don't use it, and be as silent as you can." "Why?" he asked. "Because I want to play a trick on Garen." said Naiteiri. "I meet him at a clearing in the forest. I want you to stay behind for a bit, right outside the clearing. I'll talk to him for a bit, and when you hear me say your name, I want you to come into the clearing. Come only if you hear the words _Master Skywalker. _If I only say_ my master, _or you hear me referring to you, don't come. Only come if you hear me say_ Master Skywalker._ When you do come, I'll act like I'm surprised to see you, and you have to say that you followed me here. I don't know if he'll fall for it or not, but pretend that you are so mad that you want to end me, permanently." "What?!" exclaimed Luke. "You don't think I'd really do that, do you?" "No, of course not! You're practically incapable of killing anyone, let alone your own apprentice." said Naiteiri. "Well, I suppose you did kill thousands of people when you blew the Death Star. Of course they deserved it, they were Imperials. Then you went to learn the Jedi ways from Yoda. You went to Cloud City, and learned that Vader was your father. Then you went back to Yoda, but he then died. You went to rescue Han from Jabba, and then helped Leia and Han on Endor. You let yourself get captured by Vader, and brought before the emperor. You fought your father, defeated him, then refused to kill him and turn to the dark side. The emperor then tried to kill you, but Vader turned back to Anakin Skywalker, and saved you. He then died, and you escaped the Death Star, and I am getting very off-topic. Garen is most likely wondering what's taking me so long. Anyway, after you say you're going to end me, we will fight each other. Since Garen would never believe that I could hold up against you, you have to take the advantage. When you're about to kill me, we'll both deactivate our sabers and tell Garen the truth. Sound good?" "I honestly cannot believe I am doing this, but yeah, sounds good." said Luke.

"You know, I've got to say, I never knew you could be like this, master. You're the most respected and honored person I know, except your sister, yet here you are, sneaking out in the middle of the night to play a trick on someone. Although, I guess you're not really sneaking out, since you don't really have any rules about leaving the academy whenever you want. Man, I'm getting distracted again! Master, whenever I start going off and talking about other stuff, you have to stop me." said Naiteiri. "All right." he said with a chuckle. She pulled out her glow rod.

When they were about to enter the forest, Luke stopped. "What is it?" asked Naiteiri. "Naiteiri, I want you to know that I am not always like this. I am not always just going to let you do this sort of thing, and get away with it. You have been breaking the rules, you know. I am disappointed that you did not tell me about this when I asked you if anything was bothering you. You certainly had enough chances."

"I'm deeply sorry, master. Really, I am. I know I should have told you. I promise it won't happen again." she said. She looked down, avoiding his eyes. She couldn't bear to meet his eyes, but at the same time she longed for their comfort. She looked up and stared into his bright sapphire eyes. Whenever she knew she was in trouble, she would do anything to avoid his eyes. When she did, it was impossible to look away. He managed to obtain a tie, which she couldn't break.

He put his hands on her shoulders. "I also want you to know that I am very proud of you, I couldn't ask for better apprentice." Naiteiri smiled, and was still unable to look anywhere but his loving eyes. He started towards the trees, and she just stood there, still staring at him. "Come on, Naiteiri." he said. "What?" "Come on!" "Oh, sorry." she said.

She walked ahead of him, and guided him through the dark forest. "Wait a sec." she said. The glow rod was so bright, that Naiteiri clipped it to her belt, and pulled out her lightsaber. She feared that Garen would see Luke behind her in the light of the glow rod. The darkness under the trees made the lightsaber seem rather dim.

After a minute or so, she stopped again. She turned off her lightsaber, and clipped it to her belt. "Sometimes I like it better when I'm jogging through the trees, using the Force to guide me." she said. "Here, Luke, take my hand; you don't know the way." She ran through the trees, using the Force to guide her around all the brush and branches; all the while pulling Luke along after her.

He stood a little outside the clearing, while she went to talk to Garen. "Hey, Garen. Sorry I'm a little late. I wanted to be extra cautious to make sure my master wouldn't see me." "So do you think he ever knew anything?" "I don't know, it's really hard to tell. I kind of think that he might know. I've been thinking I might talk to him tomorrow and tell him. I can't go on much longer like this." "Like what?" inquired Garen.

"I feel so miserable. I hate being at odds with my master. He stopped me today and talked to me again." "Really? What did he say?" "Oh, the same thing as this morning. He wanted to know what was bothering me. I was so angry with myself. I kinda yelled at him, and left." "Are you serious? Why?" "I don't know, I don't know. I'll talk to him tomorrow. And you know what? You should come with me! Yes, you will come with me! You need to help me, I can't face him alone." said Naiteiri. "Oh no, you are **not** dragging me into this." he said. "Please?" "No." "All right, let's forget about Master Skywalker and get this competition of ours settled." she said as she pulled out her lightsaber. "Yeah, I'll prove that I'm-" he stopped mid-sentence and his eyes widened. Naiteiri turned around. Her master was standing there with his glow rod, looking back and forth between Garen and her.

"Would you like to explain what's going on here? asked Luke. Naiteiri backed up. "Um, master, we um…we were going to have a duel to settle a little competition we have." she said nervously. "I can't believe this! You deliberately disobeyed the rules. You do realize that I cannot have this kind of behavior in my academy, right? And from my own apprentice? And you, Garen? "I know, we're sorry, Master Skywalker." said Garen. Naiteiri backed up even more, so that she was now behind Garen. She couldn't resist smiling, and she almost laughed. Seeing her smiling, it made it difficult for Luke to remain completely serious. "I am going to have to ban you from the academy, and expel you from the Jedi Order, so I might as well end you right here, right now." "What?!" exclaimed Naiteiri. "You can't do that!" "Who's going to stop me?" said Luke.

Naiteiri, with her lightsaber still ignited, walked toward her master. He crashed his lightsaber down on hers. Garen just stood there dumbfounded.

After a while, Naiteiri couldn't hold out against him any longer. Well, it was a while in her time. In reality she only was able to keep up for a few minutes. She was excellent in combat, but she was nothing compared to Luke. He knocked her lightsaber from her hand. It flew into the brushes. She fell to the ground and scrambled away from him. All she could do was stare in terror at the blazing green blade that was held just inches from her face.

He lifted his lightsaber, and was about to make the fatal blow, when Garen came charging up. Luke was intensely focused on Naiteiri. At the last moment, Naiteiri forced her saber into her hand, and met Garen's blade, preventing it from slicing into her master and killing him.

"Garen! Stop!" Naiteiri yelled. Her blade met his repeatedly, as he tried to swig at Luke. Luke turned off hi lightsaber. "Stop, Garen!" Naiteiri yelled afain. This time, he actually stopped. He turned off his lightsaber, as did Naiteiri.

"It's okay," she said. "Sorry, I just wanted to play a little trick, that's all. This is all staged. He stopped me before I came here, and I told him everything. I persuaded him to help me play a trick on you. He never intended to kill me, or you." said Naiteiri. Garen just stood there, looking at both of them in turn. "So, there's no danger of anyone getting killed?" he asked. Naiteiri smiled. She went over and embraced her master. "No, not at all. See?" she said as she rested her head on her master's shoulder. Garen just stared.

After a minute, he finally spoke. That's a risky little game!" he said, fighting back tears. "I'm sorry master Skywalker, for, you know, trying to kill you and all. I was wondering what I would say when the others found out I killed you, since they would never believe that I did it trying to protect his padawan." "And I'm, no, we are sorry for deceiving you." said Luke. "Yes, sorry." said Naiteiri.

There was several moments of silence, before Naiteiri burst out laughing. "I'm sorry, but you should have seen the expression on your face, Garen!" Garen started to laugh, then Luke. "Do I not have the best maser in the galaxy, or what?" said Naiteiri.

Luke let go of Naiteiri. "I was just kidding; I am very angry at you two. I will have to expel you from the Jedi Order." said Luke. "What? That's insane! Just for breaking one little rule?" exclaimed Naiteiri, backing away from him.

"I know it's insane, I just wanted to see if you would fall for it or not. I guess I got my answer." Luke chuckled. "Never mind, I have the worst master in the galaxy!" Naiteiri exclaimed.

Garen took out his glow rod and held it up to his watch. "Whoa! It's already 2:00!" he exclaimed. "I think it's time we all head back and get some sleep. I can now definitely understand why you have been so tired during the day." said Luke. "He's right, Garen. Let's go back." said Naiteiri. "But what about settling our little debate!" complained Garen. "Just listen to Master Luke." said Naiteiri. All she wanted to do was have her fight with Garen, but she didn't want to do anything more to get herself into trouble with her master.

So Garen went his way, and Naiteiri and Luke went theirs. Luke started to shiver. "I told you you'd want a thermal wrap." said Naiteiri. "Yes, yes, I know; and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't hold this over my head from now on." said Luke. "Here, take this." said Naiteiri. She took off her thermal cape, and handed it to him. "Take it, I don't need it. I got pretty warm when we dueled, and I still have my cloak on." "Thanks" he replied, graciously accepting it.


	3. Chapter 3

"Naiteiri! Wake up!" said Jayde. She shook her. "What? What is it?" Naiteiri whined. "Master Skywalker wants you." said Jayde. Naiteiri sat up and looked at the time: 6:30. "You have got to be kidding me. Did I just dream all of yesterday? Do you know what he wants?" asked Naiteiri. "No, just meet him at the fountain again." said Jayde, as she walked to the door. As she was just about to close the door behind her, she add "In five minutes." She shut the door behind her.

Naiteiri changed into fresh clothes and hurried to the fountain. Luke wasn't meditating this time. _Well at least_ _it's not completely identical to yesterday morning_, thought Naiteiri. "You wanted to see me?" she asked. "Yes, and I'm sorry it's so early, but I think Ican show you something you'll like. Follow me." he said. Naiteiri followed.

He led her to a training room. Before he let her enter, he took out his colink. "Give it a go." he spoke into it.

"All right. Now you can go in." said Luke. He went in after her. "Wow, did you do this?" she asked, looking all around her. She was deep inside a jungle. And it wasn't only that the walls were decorated with trees and other jungle features, the room was completely filled with very real looking holograms. She took out her saber, and sliced it through a tree. The hologram actually showed it being sliced in half, and toppling to the ground. She went around doing this to everything. After it was cut down, a tree would then re-erect itself after a few minutes. She smiled, having an odd pleasure of slicing a tree to pieces, then watching it heal itself again. "I thought you'd like it if you like fighting with Garen in the jungle so much." said Luke.

Naiteiri couldn't conceal her happiness. "You sure can change your mood from day to day. Yesterday you were all gloomy, today you look like you just won the rebellion." said Jaran at breakfast. "Guess what my master did? said Naiteiri. "What?" they all asked in unison. "Well, go to training room number eleven after breakfast and findout." she said. "Of course. You know, somehow I knew you'd say that." said Jayde.

Naiteiri sensed her master approaching from behind. "Okay, Garen, we'll meet in the same clearing tonight at midnight or so." she said, loud enough so Luke Luke could hear. "Oh, no you won't" said Luke, as he sat down at their table. "I know master, I'm only teasing." "I hope so." said Luke.

Everyone at the table immediately sat up straight, and fell silent when Luke came and sat with them. It was a great honor to sit with the Grand Master.

The five Jedi talked lightly over breakfast. It was decided that Luke, Naiteiri, Crea, and Garen would meet at the training room to duel later that day. After Jayde, Jaran and Garen left, Luke turned to Naiteiri. "This morning I realized I forgot to return your thermal cape. I'll put it in your apartment next chance I get." he said. "Okay, thanks." replied Naiteiri. They got up and parted ways.

"I talked with Crea and Garen, and we're going to meet them at 6:00 outside the training room, sound good?" asked Luke when he stopped her in the hallway later in the way. "Sounds good." she said. "Is there something else? You seem like you want to say something, what is it?" asked Luke. "Um, well I was thinking that maybe both Garen and Crea could fight you, to make it fairer for them." "I was thinking the same thing; but when I suggested it to Crea, she said she'll take me alone. You and Garen will fight, and settle your little dispute, then Crea and I will fight. But the ultimate duel will be between the two of them and the two of us. We'll see which team is better, who works together as a team better." said Luke. "Sounds great!" said Naiteiri. They bowed, (which was the formal Jedi greeting and goodbye) and went on their way.

Everybody but Luke was at the training room. Naiteiri had her finger on the button that opened the door. "Can't we just go in? I'm sure my master wouldn't mind." she said. "Master Luke said to meet outside the training room, not inside." argued Garen. "But I just want to go in, what's the harm in that?" said Naiteiri. "Garen, you wouldn't believe how real it all is. There are trees all around you, even in the middle of the room. If I didn't know any better, I'd think it's an actual forest. It has critters crawling about, there's wind in your face, and the luminous plants weren't forgotten. It even smells like the jungle. If you slice a tree in two, it actually splits and topples over." "Man, now you've got me wanting to go in there more than you!" cried Garen. "Push the button." he said. "No, don't push the button, Naiteiri," said Crea. "We will patiently wait for your master to arrive, outside the training room." she said.

A moment later, Luke came up. "Lu- , I mean Master Skywalker! If you had come any later, I might have had to guard the door to the room. These two are dying to go in." said Crea. "Sorry I'm late; I had to settle an argument between two younglings. Long story short, they both will be in meditation chambers until I return to them." said Luke. Crea chuckled.

"Master?" inquired Naiteiri. "Yes, you may go in." he replied. She eagerly pressed the button, and the door started to slide open. It wasn't even a third of the way open before Naiteiri was inside force-jumping through trees. Garen followed her in.

When Luke and Crea entered, Naiteiri was jumping through the trees, dueling an invisible opponent. Garen was just walking around. He stopped, and reached out to a tree trunk. He looked almost surprised when he didn't feel its rough bark under his fingertips. Instead, his hand went straight through it.

Naiteiri force leaped, landing silently behind Garen. Igniting his lightsaber, he whirled around and caught her blow. She smiled. "Good luck." she said. "Good luck? You're the that's going to need it!" he said.

Blue and green clashed and clanged. Garen threw Naiteiri back with a blast of Force. She ran and force jumped over him, and swept her lightsaber from behind, but he reached back and parried her stroke. She force jumped away, doing many flips in the air. She sought to land on a log, presuming to go right through it, since it was only a hologram. The only problem was that it wasn't a hologram.

She landed on it, and wobbled until she lost her balance. She fell backwards, and as she hit the floor, her lightsaber was knocked out of her hand. Garen forced it into his hand. Naiteiri couldn't believe she had fallen in battle in front of her master.

Since the log was real, she guessed there were other real things. She held out her hand, reaching out to the Force. She just wanted something, anything, to come to her, and fast. A fist-sized rock landed in her hand. She sprang to her feet, pinpointed the exact point, and sent it through the air. Naiteiri proved to have good aim, for it hit exactly where she planned. It struck her lightsaber hilt barely a centimeter above Garen's fingers, knocking it clean from his hand. He tried to force it to his hand, but Naiteiri dashed for it before he was able to obtain it.

Unfortunately, Naiteiri had lossed precious seconds in recovery from her fall. Garen started to gain the upper hand. He advanced. He managed to corner her. She sent a blast of Force at him, but he force jumped, did a few fancy flips in the air, and landed, avoiding it completely.

Naiteiri deactivated her lightsaber, as did Garen. Garen offered his hand, and she took it. "Now, don't get cocky as a result of this," said Naiteiri. "I won't" chuckled Garen. They strolled over to their master. "I see you found that not everything was a hologram." said Luke. "Yeah, a little too late though. A little warning would have been nice, but you know" she said. "Well, you sure recovered quickly." said Luke. "Now it's your turn." said Garen, turning to his master. Luke and Molly strode to the center of the room.

Naiteiri and Garen watched in awe. "They're so fast, they're practically a blur!" said Naiteiri. This is the first time I've seen masters duel each other." she said.

"Who do you think will win?" Naiteiri asked Garen. She already knew the answer. All of them knew. Even Crea knew he would win. Naiteiri just wanted to see what Garen would say. "My master, of course!" he exclaimed. He smiled at her, showing that he knew it would be Luke.

Naiteiri wondered how long Crea could hold up against Luke. It had been almost ten minutes, and Crea wasn't losing at all.

Naiteiri could have sat there all day watching her master, and she knew Garen could have sat there all day watching his master. If only they weren't so tired. Naiteiri started to yawn. It wasn't easy to hardly get any sleep three nights in a row. "You tired?" inquired Garen. "Yeah, you?" "I just want them to finish, so I can eat dinner, go to the last training session of the day, and go to sleep as soon as I can." he said. "If I were allowed, I'd skip everything and go straight to sleep." "Me too." said Garen.

Naiteiri took her attention back to Luke and Crea. Their sabers were crossed right above the hilts. They were using all their strength to force the other back. Luke proved to be the stronger. As her last defense, Crea sent a blast of Force at Luke. He overcame it, flipped through the air, and landed lightly on his feet.

He quickly gained the upper hand. Crea was defeated. "You kno, I don't think think it's possible for my master to be defeated. He's the greatest Jedi that ever lived." said Naiteiri. "How do you know?" asked Garen. "You haven't lived to see all the Jedi of the past." he said. "Well for one, he's a Skywalker, son of the Chosen One, and for two, I just know, okay? I just know." she said. Luke, having heard this, smiled. He and Crea walked over to their padawans. "So, ready for two on two?" asked Crea.

"Um, about that… Garen and I would kind of prefer if we did it tomorrow instead." said Naiteiri. Crea looked at Luke. "It's fine with me." she said. "Me too; okay, we'll fight tomorrow." he said.

"Say, Crea, could you do me a favor? Can you go and get the two younglings from the meditation rooms and tell them it's time for dinner?" "Sure thing." she said, and walked away.

Luke could easily have done it himself, but he wanted a chance to talk to both Naiteiri and Garen alone. "I know you two are tired. I am allowing you…just for today, to retire early. I don't usually let padawans skip a meal and a training session just because they're tired."

"Oh, thank you, Master! I don't know about Garen, but I'm going to sleep right away." she thought for half a moment. "Well, maybe I'll get something to eat first. But then I'm going to sleep." she said. "Me two." said Garen. "Me three." said Luke.

Naiteiri's alarm went off at six thirty. She decided to amuse herself, and see if her master happened to be by the fountain again. She wasn't really expecting him to be there, and she didn't feel like she wanted to see, him, yet she was disappointed when he wasn't there. She figured that as long as she was there, she would sit by the fountain and meditate. _Maybe I'll find out why Luke seems to like coming here in the morning,_ thought Naiteiri.

She sat down and meditated. It was so peaceful. Nobody else was around, and the only things you could hear were the wind rustling through the trees outside and the soft sound of spraying water of the fountain. The morning sun, just barely peeking above the tree, cast its warm rays on her pale face.

Naiteiri was in such a deep state of meditation, that she didn't notice her master approach. "Good morning!" he said cheerfully. Naiteiri was so startled, that she fell backwards into the fountain. Luke chuckled.

"Blaster bolts! Look at me, I'm soaked!" cried Naiteiri. "I know, and I shouldn't laugh, but I just can't help it!' HE LAUGHED. He offered his hand to help her out. She took it, and gave him a mischievous glance. "Oh, no you do- "It was too late; she pulled him in. He wasn't mad, but instead started to laugh again.

"You know, you're the most highly respected Jedi master at this academy, and you always act in such a formal manner, yet here you are with your apprentice, sitting and laughing in the courtyard fountain." said Naiteiri. "Well, I do like to have fun too, you know." he said. "Oh, before I forget, at breakfast, come find me and sit with me, I have some news for you." "Ye, Master."

Naiteiri put her hands on the bottom of the fountain out behind her, and felt the cool spray of the water against her face. Cool, soothing mist filled the air, as well as the sun's warm, golden rays shining through. "Master?" "Yes?" "Do you come here every morning?" "Yes, why?" "Just curious. I know now why you come here. It was so blissful when I was meditating. At least it was until you came and scared me half to death." said Naiteiri. Luke started laughing. "You should have seen the expression on your face when you fell in!" he said. Naiteiri shoved him, playfully. "Oh yeah? Was it so funny when _you_ fell in?" she mused.

They were both just sitting and laughing when Sky entered the courtyard. (it was also considered the garden) They immediately fell silent. Sky raised her eyebrow. "Luke, what in heavens are you doing?" she asked. "Nothing, we're just, um, we're just checking the water temperature. Yup, nice and cool." he said. He stood up and offered his hand to Naiteiri. This time she didn't pull him in. "And you need to be immersed in the water to do that?" questioned Sky. Okay fine, but it's not my fault! She fell in, and then pulled me in!" he defended. "Okay, I'm just going to pretend this whole situation isn't at all odd, and be on my way." said Sky. They stood there, silent, until Luke finally spoke. "We should probably-" "Yeah" said Naiteiri. "See you at breakfast." she said just before leaving.

"So, what's the news you have for me?" asked Naiteiri as she sat down at the table across from her master. "As I'm sure you've guessed, it's about your old master. Our spies have tracked a bounty hunter, who we believe is the assassin, to a planet called Socorro." "Socorro?" inquired Naiteiri. "I've never heard of it." she said. "Socorro is a planet in the Kiblini Sector of the outer rim territories. It's mainly deserts, mountainous regions, and some volcanic regions, and is filled with various species. It has a reputation as a smuggler have, so I'm sure it wouldn't take you too terribly long to guess who's homeworld it is." "Who?" asked Naiteiri. "Calrissian." replied Luke.

"The bounty hunter traveled to a settlement near a desert called the Carbon wastes, and also close to Sarlacc's Peak, which you can tell by its name, contains a Sarlacc at the peak of it. One of our spies, disguised as a bounty hunter, is as we speak on his way to investigate. I will keep you updated on the mission's progress."

Naiteiri was glad to hear the good news, but all she could think about was her and her master defeating Crea and Garen. "Master, when are we going to duel Master Crea and Garen?: asked Naiteiri. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. We're going to meet right after breakfast." Naiteiri's blue eyes widened. She couldn't wait, she just couldn't wait!

After breakfast, Luke, Naiteiri, Crea and Garen all walked to the training room together, so there was no arguing about whether to press the access button or not. "May the Force be with us all." said Luke before they entered.

Luke and Naiteiri stood side by side across from Crea and Garen, who were also standing side by side. Luke took on Crea, while Naiteiri took on Garen. If Naiteiri was in trouble, Luke came to her aid, and if Luke were in trouble, Naiteiri would do her best to help him; as did Crea and Garen with each other.

It had been a good half hour. Luke and Naiteiri were standing back to back, each fighting off an opponent. "So, you still thinking about taking away the trophy?" asked Luke. "Of course! I will do this all day until we do." she said. "I never get tire of –aggressive negotiations." she said, grinning. Luke laughed.

"I've got a plan." said Luke. "What is it?" asked Naiteiri. "You take Crea, but don't attack, you're not strong enough. Just defend." With that, he force jumped backwards over Naiteiri, and battled Garen. Naiteiri was left to face Crea. She took her Master's advice, and only defended herself. It wasn't too long before Luke conquered Garen, and he went to assist Naiteiri. Now Molly had to face both Luke and Naiteiri. She couldn't hold out for long. Luke took the lead, and conquered her.

The four Jedi left the training room. Naiteiri found it impossible to stop smiling. "Alright, I'm off to a Council meeting." said Luke. Crea went with him, since she too was on the Council. Naiteiri and Garen went to their training sessions.


	4. Chapter 4

Once again, Naiteiri woke to her alarm at six thirty. She normally wore her hair down, and didn't really do anything to it, but that wasn't the case today. Today she neatly wove it into a braid. Her padawan braid still hung down of course. There were two reasons she decided on the change. The first was that she planned on lots lightsaber dueling, and it was helpful to have it up.

When the silver door to the lift slid open, her master stood inside. "On your way to the garden?" asked Naiteiri. "In fact I am, you?" he replied. Naiteiri nodded. She felt an awkward silence as the lift took them down to the first level.

Luke broke the silence as they entered the garden, and sauntered over to the fountain. "So, I talked with the Council yesterday, and four Jedi teams were chosen for the mission to Malastare. Crea and Garen, Sky and Jayde, Matthew and Jaran, and you and I. Everyone has been informed except you and Jaran. Matthew will inform Jaran, so that leaves me to talk with you."

Luke sat down, but as he saw Naiteiri walk to the opposite side of the fountain, he got up and followed her. She went for that side because the sun gleamed through and brought more warm sunlight to that side. The morning sun shone on her, bringing out the hint of red in her hair.

"As I was saying….." continued Luke. "Our mission will take us to Malastare, of the Dustig Sector in the Mid-Rim. The population of Malastare is made mostly of Grans and Dugs. There are some humans, as well as other various species. The man governing the humans on Malastare is now in hiding. Dug assasins have made repeated attempts on his life. Our mission is to find out who is behind this plot, and why." said Luke. "And to catch them, which is implied in our mandate." said Naiteiri. "First we will find out who they are, and their reason for these attempted assassinations." replied Luke."Well' yes, of course." said Naiteiri.

Naiteiri made a sideways glance at her master. She lifted her hands, and reached to unravel her hair. "What are you doing?" Luke stopped her. I'm taking it down. I only put it up for when I duel, so I can have it down until then." she said. "Well don't, it looks better that way." he said. Are you sure?" she asked. "Yes, I'm quite sure. I like it that way." he said. "As you wish, master." she said. She tried to hide her smile, having accomplished her goal.

"We will leave for Malastare in two days. " said Luke.

As she normally did, she sat with Jayde, Jaran and Garen in the cafeteria for breakfast. "How come you did that to your hair today?" asked Jayde. "Um…er, because I was hoping to duel one of you guys." said Naiteiri. "Oooh! I'll do it!" cried all three of them in a combined chorus. "I know. Garen! We could do the same thing we did with Luke and Crea, except only us four padawans. Say…..guys against girls?" asked Naiteiri. "Sounds splendid! What tome, and where?" he asked. "Um…, let me think. How about six o'clock like last time, and in the same room, number eleven." she said. "Okay" he agreed.

"Slow down, slow down! Wait, we're doing who against who? And what did you do with your masters? So we're meeting at six o'clock at training room number what again? asked a confused brother and sister. "Jayde and I will go up against the guys,. Garen and I fought each other, each alongside our master; so it was Crea and Garen against Luke and I. And to your third question, we will meet outside (hinting at Garen of their earlier experience) training room number eleven. "Got it now, but who won?" inquired Jayde. "Huh?' said Naiteiri. "Between you and Luke, and Garen and Crea." Jaran filled in. "Oh, that. Luke and I won." she said excitedly. "I don't think that's the reason, Naiteiri" piped in Garen. "For what?" she askd. "For braiding your hair all fancy-like. I don'y think it's because you're going to battle one of us. You've never done it before, when you've dueled anyone. Besides, you could have just put in a simple bun or something, but no, you intricately wove it into that" said Garen. The others, now realizing this, started to prod her for an answer. "So, how come?" questioned Garen. "I don't know" she said, looking down to avoid their eyes. "Come on, you know perfectly well" said Garen. "Hey, if she doesn't want to tell us, then she doesn't have to" cut in Jayde. "Thank you" said Naiteiri graciously.

When Jayde and Jaran left, Garen just stared at Naiteiri. "Okay, fine! If you must know…" sighed Naiteiri. "I hating losing to you in front of my master, so I decided to do things, now I know this sounds dumb, but I decided to do little things to make him like me more, or think more of me. I can't wait to tell him Jayde and I beat you and Jaran in a duel." said Naiteiri. "Wait a minute now, you haven't won yet" said Garen. "And Naiteiri, Master Luke doesn't think any less of you because you clumsily fell in battle, and lost to me" "Garen!" cried Naiteiri. "Right….sorry. Although I'm not saying he wouldn't be a little more proud if you say, single-handedly defeated me" said Garen. "What are you saying?" she asked. "How about you and I practice together so you, and I, can improve our skills in combat. When we are on Malastare, you can prove them. At some point, you can casually tell him that you battled me again, and that you won. Of course you have to actually do that before you tell him, but…" "Thank you so much, Garen! Meet me at room three at one o'clock" said Naiteiri as she got up and left for her training session.

Naiteiri and Garen were training and dueling every spare second they had. They slept, trained, ate, and trained some more. Naiteiri was sad not to meet her master at the fountain in the morning, but she was glad to have the time to train with Garen. They often went outdoors, for they could get a better grasp on their surroundings when they weren't holograms in a training room. They found that scaling the side of the temple proved to be a good training site. They climbed it like stairs, and force jumped, leaped, and flipped up and down it. When it was too steep for just climbing it like stairs, they shot up their grappling hooks, and climbed the fibercord. When they reached the top, they would engage in a lightsaber duel, then climb back down the temple. The most fun they had was when they raced each other up the temple, raced back down, ran inside, take the lifts to the fourth level, then climb the stairs out onto the roof. The key was to spend a considerable amount of energy going down, for whoever got to the closest lift inside the temple, was usually the winner.

Once, Naiteiri pretended to go slower, so Garen was at the bottom when she was just barely over half way down. She waited until he was inside, and then raced back up. She was standing there, acting like she had been waiting for an hour when Garen climbed the last stair and came up onto the roof.

"You are such a cheater!" exclaimed a panting Garen. "I didn't cheat, I just, er…. came up a different way than you did" said she. "Uh huh, sure you did. You went all the way down, and came all the way back up" "Well, mostly, sorta." she said shyly. "See, you cheated" he said. "See, you cheated" mimicked Naiteiri mockingly. They both started laughing. "All right, let'us do this again, only this time no cheating." said Garen. They leisurely went back down the temple, but as they were going down, they heard the swish of the temple door opening. They scurried over to the edge to see who it was. "Blaster bolts! It's Master Luke! Go, go, go! Go to the top, and to the Grand Audience Chamber!" cried Naiteiri. They didn't want anyone, especially their masters to know they were training. When they masters saw them in action on Malastare, they wanted them to think they were just naturally that good. They came away from the edge, so they would not be seen.

Garen took the chance, and went over to peer over the edge. "He's climbing up!" he said. "Does he see us?" asked Naiteiri. "I don't know, how am I supposed to know? He's not looking over here, but just hurry!" said Garen in reply. They frantically scaled the wall of the Massassi temple. Naiteiri was going so fast, she tripped and gashed her leg against the hard stone. Despite the condition of her leg, she zipped up the temple with amazing speed.

When she reached the top, Garen had just gone down the stairs leading to the fourth level. He waited for her in the Grand Audience Chamber. "That was close!" said Naiteiri, after they had a chance to catch their breath. "Yeah, no kidding" said Garen. "What happened to you?" he asked, noticing the blood coming through her pants. "Oh, it's nothing" she said as she started to limp through the Grand Audience Chamber. "You call that nothing? It's obviously something. You've got to treat that right away, Naiteiri" said Garen. Naiteiri hesitated for a moment. "You're right. And if Master Luke comes looking for me, the med center is probably the last place he'll look. He's probably to the roof by now, so we have to hurry." They rushed to a lift, and took it to the first floor. Naiteiri had her leg treated, and carried on with the day as normal.

The four friends were talking over dinner, when Luke approached them. "Sorry, excuse me, but Naiteiri, can we talk?" he said. "Sure master,what is it?" she asked. "Well, I was thinking we'd move to a separate table, but we can talk here. Were you on the side of the-""Your right, let's go to another table" Naiteiri cut him off. They went and sat down at a different table. "As I was saying, were you on the side of the temple earlier today? And is there a reason why you weren't at the fountain this morning?" he asked. "I don't know why I wasn't at the fountain, I must have overslept. And no, I wasn't on the side of the temple, you must have seen someone else" said Naiteiri. "I didn't say I saw anyone out there, how did you know that I did?" "Well, I assumed that you did, and was wondering if it was me or not" said Naiteiri. "You assumed right. I went outside looking for you, since you were nowhere to be found inside. I wanted to tell you that we're going to meet at hangar number ten, immediately following breakfast tomorrow. Tell Jayde, Jaran and Garen, and have them pass it on to their masters." "Consider it done"

They all met at hangar ten as planned. "So, who's going to pilot this beauty?" asked Luke. Everyone stared at it. "How did you get it? asked Sky. "He let me borrow it for a while when I visited Coruscant last week. You know how much he loves this old ship, so remember, not a scratch!" said Luke as he ran his hand over its smooth hull.

Naiteiri, suddenly remembering her masters previous question, spoke up. "I call the pilot seat!" she exclaimed. "I call Co-pilot!" called out Jaran. "It's settled then, Naiteiri and Jaran will fly the ship, and Jayde and Garen will be at the gun wells." He wanted to give the apprentices the chance to man the ship, since the masters have had their times in the past. "Master Skywalker, do I have to?" asked Jayde. "I mean, I'd rather be in the cockpit with Jaran and Naiteiri." "Well I guess, if you want, I just thought you'd have fun shooting down any space debris that comes by" said Luke. He looked like he had more to say, but didn't want to say it. For a minute, there was a silence between the eight Jedi.

Finally, Crea said what everyone was thinking. "Yes, Luke, you will fill in for her. Sky, Matthew, and I will be fine." "That's not at all what I was thinking about" said Luke with a smile, and walked up the boarding ramp. "Maybe we don't go to Malastare. Maybe we just fly aimlessly through space and let him gun down debris all day" said Matthew. They all chuckled.

"Ah, there it is! Grid coordinates: n-16, orbital position: 3. Malastare of the Dustig Sector" informed Jaran as he pulled up Malastare on the Falcon's datascreen. "Thanks" said Naiteiri as she plugged it into the hyperdrive.

Sky and Luke were going over the final pre-flight checklist. Luke was on his back, tucked under a network of wires, cables, circuit boards, and switches.

"Power cell?

"Check."

"Ion fusions?"

"Check."

"Reserve?"

"Check."

"Alright, I know this ship has had its problems with this next one. Hyperdrive?"

"All check."

Luke came out and stood up. "All good! You can fire her up!" he called to the cockpit. In a few moments, the engines were roaring. "You know, this sure brings me back," said Luke. "To when I was first in this old ship with Ben Kenobi, way back when." Luke smiled as a thought occurred to him. He went to the ladder, and climbed down to the gun well.

Once they were out of Yavin 4's atmosphere, Naiteiri called to Luke and Garen sitting in the gun wells. "All right guys, you can rid the galaxy of some space junk." She turned to Jaran. "What are the major spaceports mentioned in that file?" she asked. "Well, Master Luke said we're headed for Port Pixelito, and it looks like that's the only major port on Malastare." replied Jaran.

Luke and Garen didn't have much time for fun, for within a few minutes, Naiteiri sent the Millennium Falcon onto lightspeed. Everyone then sat together in the living quarters. "So, who exactly are we looking for when we get there?" asked Jaran. "We'll ask for the palace of the humans. At least that's what the Grans and Dugs call it. We'll hopefully be able to find their leader. We'll talk to him, and decide what to do from there." said Luke.

Naiteiri and Jaran were back in the cockpit. The indicator light started flashing. "we're coming up on Malastare" said Naiteiri. "Remember our plan? Crea and Garen will stay with the ship until we know how friendly the natives are. Sky and Jayde will explore Pixelito and find out as much information as they can about the conflict between the Dugs and the humans." said Luke.

Luke, Sky, and Matthew, with their apprentices, walked down the ramp onto the landing platform. A hostile looking Dug was coming towards them from the opposite side of the platform. Luke stepped forward while the others stayed near the ship.

"Greetings. Welcome to Pixelito, the capital of Malastare, whoever you are," said the dug, "I am Luke Skywalker, I am here to-" The dug cut him off mid-sentence. "Skywalker, eh? Here for Pugwis, are you?" "Pugwis?" asked Luke inquisitively. "Yes, Pugwis. Sebulba's grandson. Are you not the human who raced Sebulba in the Boonta Eve Classic?" said the dug. "No, no, no, that was my father, Anakin Skywalker" said Luke "Well, whatever, yo-kan-tu banta poodoo,(you're bantha fodder) same as your father." said the dug. "Hey, Anakin Skywalker was a great man, and I am no such thing, I am a Jedi Master, slimo." said Luke. (slimo= slimeball) The dug, realizing Luke knoew dug language, changed the subject. "What is your business here? Did you come for trouble, or did you bring it with you?" he hissed. "I am looking for the leader of the humans here on Malastare" said Luke. "No one knows where he is, so you going to have to find him by yourself. Rent a speeder, and you can go out to his palace, but he won't be there." "His palace is…?" "Just get a speeder. Its nav computer will have the location and how to get there." The dug then walked away. Luke motioned for the others to come. He pulled out his comlink.

"Come in, Crea" he spoke into it. "Yes?" came her voice. "Take the Falcon to the outskirts, then explore the city with Sky and Jayde. Head back to the ship at dusk." "Understood." "May the Force be with you." "May the Force be with you too."

Luke, Naiteiri, Matthew, and Jaran went to find a speeder while Sky, Jayde, Crea and Garen journeyed into the core of Pixelito. The Gran that rented them the speeder wasn't particularly friendly, until it came to credits. They found that the dug from the landing platform was correct. They searched the palace, and easily found it on the speeders nav computer. In the suburbs of Pixelito, they found the palace. It wasn't at all a palace. In fact it was little more than a regular house. It looked almost abandoned. Weeds had overgrown the gardens, the windows were gray with dust, and the plants and grass were all dried out, baked in the hot sun. In a few spots, there had been a weak attempt to revive some flowers and grass, but nothing would be able to save it now.

Luke knocked on the door. A minute later a woman opened the door. She was tired and sad looking. When her weary eyes fell on the Jedi, a wave of relief washed over her pale face. "Master Jedi. we have been looking forward to your arrival." she said with great pleasure. "I suppose you are looking for our leader. My daughter Shana will take you to him. But first you must eat. I'm sure you are hungry. Come in and sit down." said the woman. "Oh, no thank you miss, we should be on our way. If you may, send out your daughter, and we will depart right away." said Luke. "Yes, I will do that. Do you have a speeder?" she asked. Luke moved aside to let her see the speeder in the street. "I'll send her right out!" she said, as she turned and went back inside.

The four Jedi went back to the speeder. In a couple minutes, a girl about eighteen came out to them. "My name is Shana. I am told you are looking for our master?" "Yes, thank you. My name is Luke Skywalker, and these are my friends." Shana's eyes widened. "Sk-Sky-Skywalker?! Lu-Luke Skywalker!? The same Luke Skywalker that destroyed the death star, and the same Luke Skywalker that destroyed the Emperor and Vader!?" "Well, destroying the emperor and Vader was technically my father's doing, but let's not get into that whole story.. Let's get back to the present. I'd like to introduce you to my friends. This is my apprentice, Naiteiri, and this is Matthew and his apprentice, Jaran. "Nice to meet you." said Shana with a smile.

"So, who is your master? How long will it take us to get there?" asked Matthew. "I can't say, there may be dug spies about" said Shana. "What I can tell you is that when we arrive, it will be mealtime, and I'm sure he will ask you to eat at his table. Only two can go in at a time, unless they've been fully checked for weapons." said Shana "Of course we have weapons, we're Jedi, and Jedi are never without their lightsabers! You can't take them away from us!" exclaimed Jaran. Matthew gave him a glance. A glance that every padawan knew all too well. The glance meant _why did you do that, what were you thinking?! We will discuss this later._

"Well, you'll have to leave them with the guard" said Shana as she hopped in in the speeder and took the driver's seat. She fired it up. They sped off over the plains, with mountains looming in the distance.

The mountains grew and grew. The deep green of the evergreens pressed against the white of the snowcapped mountains became inCreasingly vivid. They had travelled for several hours, and the sun was beginning to set. "How much longer?" asked Naiteiri. "We should be there within the hour" replied Shana.

They stopped after going about two kilometers into the mountains. Shana stopped the speeder in front of a cliff. She got out and walked over to the wall of the cliff. The others just sat there, wondering why in heavens she would just randomly stop in front of a cliff and walk up to it. Shana bent down, and cleared away some rocks and dirt. Underneath lay a secret panel. She punched in an access code, which unlocked the panel. She opened it, and only a small metal box was revealed. She opened a flap on the box and pressed a button inside. She then closed up the box and panel, and locked it. She spread the rocks and dirt back over the panel to completely hide it. They heard a loud groan, then a "click." Then a door in the cliff slid open. They followed Shana into it, and the door shut behind them. They were led down a dark hallway. They wlked for about five minutes in the darkness, until they came to a door.

It opened into a huge cavern. The cavern had lit torches everywhere; there wasn't a square foot on the walls without a torch. Against the walls were stacks of crates. They were obviously planning to hide out in here for a while. Some were labeled food, some read powercells, and some were marked durasteelplates. Others were labeled torches. "Someone had better unpack those crates. I don't think there are quite enough torches on the wall." said Naiteiri. "Ha ha, very funny," said Shana. ""Our master doesn't like the darkness. Come, follow me."

There were three outlets breaking off from the main cavern, leading deeper into the mountain. Shana took them down the one in the middle. They came to an opening that led into yet another large cave lit brightly with torches. The cave was separated into two parts by pillars of stalactite. One had a table and chairs, and the other had a luxurious looking cot, as well as crates that were either marked weapons or torches. "Oh look, more torches" said Naiteiri. In return she got a look from her master.

There was a man on the other side of the room, dressed in royal clothes. He was sitting on a short stack of crates. At that moment, a guard that had been hidden from view walked up to them and demanded their weapons. With reluctance, all four lightsabers were handed over. They started towards the man, but were instantly restrained. "Only two of you; and show your garments," said the guard. They all showed that they had no additional weapons on them. "Alright, just you and the girl" he said, pointing to Luke. Matthew and Jaran didn't want to cause a problem, so they agreed to stay behind. They went back to the main cavern.

Luke and Naiteiri bowed before him. "Greetings, Jedi! Let us sit down with a drink while we talk." said the man. They squeezed through the stalactite into the other room, and sat down at the table. In a minute or so, someone came in with two cups of Jawa Juice and a glass of water for Naiteiri. (Jawa Juice was often alcoholic.)

"I am grateful foe your service, Master…?" "Skywalker. Luke Skywalker" Luke filled in. "Skywalker, eh?" said the man with a smile. _Is that all anybody ever says when they meet someone named Skywalker?_ thought Luke. "Once again, I thank you for coming. Although I did only need _one_ Jedi. Is this your daughter?" he asked. Luke and Naiteiri chuckled. "No, no, this is my apprentice, Naiteiri" said Luke. "Oh" was all the man replied.

Suddenly remembering he had forgotten to, the man introduced himself. "I am General Ben Kenoti, leader of-" Luke choked on his drink. "Is there something the matter?" asked Kenoti. "It's just that your name sounds an awful lot like an old friend of Luke's." said Naiteiri. Luke was still recovering from choking on his drink.

Luke shook himself out of a zone of unbelief. "So, these dug assassins; do you know what they're after?" questioned Luke. "No, I have no idea. They just started attacking my home one night. They always come at night, and there's usually about thirty of them. I moved to two other places before I came here, and they found me each time. It will not be long until they find this one; they have many spies." said Kenoti. "You need to catch those villainous scum." he said. "Well for all we know, they could be being forced to do it." Luke pointed out. "Are you kidding? They're dugs! Any dug would jump at the chance to have permission to kill someone'" said Kenoti. "It's just their style."

"Still, it's a possibility." said Luke. Just then, his comlink signaled. "Excuse me for a moment." said Luke.

"This is Skywalker."

"We're all back to the Falcon. Are you guys going to stay where you're at?" came Crea's voice.

"Yes, and we have to cut this conversation short."

"Okay, but signal me when you are able to talk. I have some information you will want to know."

"I will, goodbye."

"My friends and I will be outside guarding, and waiting for the dugs." said Luke. "Wait,…your…friends? How many came with you?" asked Kenoti. "Well, I brought four teams, so that means there are eight of us in all. The other four are with our ship." said Luke. "Then where are the remaining two?" asked Kenoti. "Oh, they're in the room down the hall." said Luke.

"I shall like to meet them before you go outside." "You can follow us, and meet them." said Luke. Kenoti took his suggestion and followed them into the main cavern, and was introduced to Matthew and Jaran. Jaran noticed a man mounting some more torches on the wall. He nudged Naiteiri, and pointed to the man. "Making sure there wasn't a spot missed, I see." she said. Luke gave her the same rebuking look.

The four Jedi went outside. It was the perfect temperature. Just cool enough to not feel warm under their heavy Jedi robes, and warm enough for them to sit comfortably and not begin to shiver. Everything was silent, save the wind whistling through the mountains. They sat down on nearby boulders.

"Master? Why didn't you want to talk to Crea?" asked Naiteiri as she sat down beside him. "It's not that I didn't want to talk to her. If we talk for even a short time, the dugs will pick up the signal, and trace it here." he said. "Tomorrow we will go back to the "palace" and contact her. She said she had some information for us. Don't anyone contact any of them, and if one of them calls you, keep it as short as possible." "Yes, master." said Naiteiri obediently. "That goes for you two, also." he said to Matthew and Jaran.

The four companions sat together in silence as they watched Striar sink below the horizon. (Striar was the name of Malastare's sun.) Naiteiri's comlink flashed. She got up and went a little ways away, pulling out her comlink.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Jayde. I've got to keep this short. My master forbade me to contact any of you, because Luke said it wasn't a good time."

"Okay, so what is it?"

"I got to go, Sky's coming, but protect Master Skywalker at all costs."

Jayde disconnected her comlink. "Wait! Jayde! What do you mean protect him at all costs?" she cried into the comlink. She suddenly sensed her master. She turned around. He was standing only a few feet away. "How long have you been standing there?" asked a now scared Naiteiri. She wanted to know why Jayde had said what she had said. "Long enough." said Luke, with a not so pleased look on his face. "Who was that? I thought I told you to not talk to anyone." said Luke. "It was Jayde." said Naiteiri. "What was she saying? What's this about protecting someone at all costs? Protect who at all cocts?" questioned Luke.

"Um…well, she…um, was talking about… Kenoti. Yes! She was talking about Kenoti. She said I have to protect him at all costs." said Naiteiri nervously. Luke could see through her deceit. _Why would she not want to tell him the truth? What was she hiding?_ he asked himself. He decided he would let her come and tell him on her own, rather than ask her himself.

The pair walked back over to the others. "Jaran, will you come with me?" asked Naiteiri. Jaran followed her to a spot that was out of earshot from their masters. "Jayde contacted me, and she said that I need to protect Master Skywalker at all costs." she said. She looked behind her; to be sure her master hadn't followed her again. "Why? What else did she say?" asked Jaran. "I don't know why, and that's all she had time to say. Sky told her not to contact me, because Luke said it wasn't a good time, but Jayde did it anyway, and I'm thankful she did." said Naiteiri. "Huh, I wonder why she would say that. Why don't you try calling her back?" said Jaran. "I would, but Luke said not to." said Naiteiri, mournfully. "You refuse to break his rules, but you'll lie to him?" questioned Jaran. "Good point." said Naiteiri as she pulled out her comlink.

"Jayde. Come in, Jayde."

"Naiteiri?""Yes, now what did you mean when you said to protect Master Skywalker at all costs?"

"Well, let's just say that Sebulba's bitterness towards Anakin Skywalker is very alive in his grandson, Pugwis. We talked to Pugwis, and now he hates us too, since we come with the son of Anakin Skywalker. And Now that he has learned that Anakin's son is here on Malastare, he will stop at nothing to kill him."

"What! That's insane! I hate those dugs and their stupid grudges."

"I know. Believe me, his main goal is to avenge his grandfather."

"Okay, I'll be careful. Thanks Jayde. I should probably go, though. I'll contact you in the morning."

"Sounds good. Oh, and may the Force be with you, you'll need it."

Naiteiri shut off her comlink. "Did you hear all that?" Naiteiri asked Jaran. "You do realize I'm standing right here, right?" he said. "Man, when I see this Pugwis, he'll be sorry" said Naiteiri. Jaran felt like a master correcting their padawan. "Naiteiri?" he said. "What?" replied Naiteiri. "Remember?" "Remember what?" she questioned. "Oh, come on! If Master Luke had said that, and looked at you the way I'm looking at you, you would immediately say…" Reluctantly, she filled in the blank. "I know, I know. Feel my anger, and let it go."

They walked back over to their masters. Naiteiri wanted nothing more than to sit beside her master, but she knew she couldn't unless she told him the truth. She and Jaran sat on a boulder across from Luke and Matthew. Naiteiri could see her master was tired, and she too longed for sleep. "Master, you can rest, we'll keep watch." said Naiteiri. "Same with you, master." said Jaran. "Thank you, my padawan." said Luke, as he got up off the boulder. He sat down, with his back in the corner between the boulder and the cliff face. Matthew did the same on the reverse side. It wasn't long before both masters were asleep.

Naiteiri also sat down. She sat down by her master. She went close to him and rested on him. She took his arm and wrapped it around her. "Jaran, if I fall asleep, will you keep watch?" she asked him. "Sure thing." he replied.

She never really knew for sure, but she thought she felt her master pull her in closer. She was comforted feeling her master's warm body beside her. She stared up at the starry sky until she fell asleep, safe in her master's arms.

"Master Skywalker! Naiteiri! Master!" Jaran whispered in exclamation. All three awoke and stood up. "I think I see the dugs coming in the distance. They're only dark figures against the darkness, but they are definitely making their way over here." remarked Jaran. Luke put his hand above his eyes. "I see them. Everybody hide until they come close. Don't kill them all. I will let you know the few that we will take captive when the fighting begins." said Luke.

Luke, Naiteiri, Matthew, and Jaran slinked unnoticed through the darkness. They moved to the rear of the formation of dugs. Naiteiri's heart began to grow cold with fear. She wasn't afraid for herself, or of the vast number of dugs, she was afraid for her master. She was excited for the fight, but she also dreaded it. For if they were to lose, she was sure her master would be taken away from her. It happened to her once before, she didn't want it to happen with Master Luke, too.

There were way more than thirty; there were at least two hundred of them. _I'm_ _sure Kenoti is glad there's more than one of us now_, thought Naiteiri.

Luke broke into her thoughts. "On my mark." he said. Naiteiri nodded.

"Now!" he whispered. Ever so quietly, the Jedi moved closer to the dugs. The first dug was now only approximately twenty meters away from the secret entrance to the cave.

Four lightsabers slashed into the clan of dugs. The dugs at the front of the mass were now near the door. Only a few in the front had blasters, the rest were armed with b'heddas. (B'heddas were the dugs' weapon of choice. Because they were a naturally violent species, they were forbidden by law to carry blasters. They adapted to using b'heddas, a scooped, bladed weapon. Though some carried blasters, despite the law.)

The two Jedi pairs killed many with great speed. All their enemies were now aware of them, and moved in to surround them. Luke made a quick sweep of his lightsaber, taking out three dugs at once. He force-leaped out of the mass of dugs, and Naiteiri followed. She kept beside him the whole time. She was determined to not let anything happen to him.

She sensed her master was getting irritated. She decided to move away for a bit. "He's a Jedi Master, he can take care of himself, right?" Naiteiri said to herself.

She put on an extra burst of speed and energy. She began to fight more brilliantly than ever. She had never felt so much power flowing through her before. She went deep into White Current. (White Current was the immersion of oneself in the actual flows and ripples within the Force itself.) She was capable of feats that were unnatural for a Jedi padawan. She became so powerful; Luke and the others could feel ripples Created in the Force.

One of the dugs with a blaster shot at the hidden panel, then at the cliff side, trying to force his way in. Luke signaled to the others, showing them the dugs they would keep alive.

Luke, Matthew and Jaran backed away. There were still almost a hundred left, but they knew Naiteiri would handle them with ease.

"There is Juyo in her form, as well as Djem So. Those two can be a dangerous mix, you know. It often makes the wielder overconfident." said Matthew to Luke. (Juyo is a form of lightsaber combat. It is the most violent, aggressive form. Djem So is also a form of lightsaber combat. It is the form requiring the most physical work. It involves a series of violent strokes, often knocking the opponent over by sheer force.) "What are you getting at? I've used Djem So too, you know." asked Luke. "Many fallen Jedi have been known to practice them both." said Matthew. "Hold on a second, what are you saying?!" exclaimed Luke. Though he didn't say it, he knew what Matthew was referring to. "Have you gone mad? Naiteiri would never turn into Vader!" exclaimed an offended Luke.

"Your right, I'm sorry. You are the superior here, and I must trust your judgment." said Matthew. Meanwhile, Jaran, overhearing the entire conversation, could not believe what his master had been saying.

Naiteiri was still fight off the dugs. She could feel the Force flowing through her body. She was immersed in the folds and ripples of the Force. She was the Force. Nothing could penetrate her. She was invincible under the White Current. With incredible speed, she took out all but two. They surrendered their weapons.

They were shot from behind, and fell to the ground. A guard from inside the cave had come out and shot their only link to finding out the plot behind everything. "Wha- What have you done, laser brain!" cried Naiteiri. "What? I helped you! Don't you want them dead? You should be thanking me! You, you Jedi, apparently don't have the courage and the brains to kill them all. If I hadn't killed it, it would have killed you! You shouldn't be mad, you should be thanking me, I did you a favor!" exclaimed the guard.

"A favor? Why you stuck up, half witted-" "Naiteiri!" said Luke in a displeased, authoritative voice. She looked at him with rebellion in her eyes. She walked swiftly up to the guard. "Have you gone insane?! You think the Jedi have no brains? You think they are without courage?" exclaimed an enraged Naiteiri. "I did you a favor!" mocked Naiteiri. "You see, this is why I told my master not to enlist the help of the Jedi." said the guard. "Oh yeah, and you're a huge help to him, aren't you? You shot down our only link to finding out their reason for what they've been doing. Besides, why did you even need to shoot them? They had already surrendered." said Naiteiri. "Pugwis was right. You're all the same, Jedi scum. You will die along with Skywalker." said the guard.

Naiteiri still had her lightsaber ignited from her fight with the dugs. She tightened her fingers around its hilt. "You know, I've got half a mind to end you, right here, right now." said Naiteiri forcefully.

"What will that accomplish? You, Skywalker, and the rest of your pitiful Jedi friends will all die in the end. But not before you've suffered. I don't believe you know how long dugs will carry out grudges. The family of Anakin Skywalker will suffer." This infuriated Naiteiri more than anything. She raised her lightsaber, but then lowered it again. She deactivated it, realizing she was about to do what she had gotten so mad at him for.

Luke was relieved that she did realize it. He was glad he didn't have to intervene to stop her from killing him. The guard snickered at Naiteri, "Like I said, no courage." he said as he raised his blaster, pointing it at her chest. When he didn't get a reaction out of her, he tried a different tactic. He pointed it at Luke. "Maybe I'll just kill your precious master." he said. Naiteiri pressed the powere button on her saber and with one fluid motion, sliced through his arm.

"Ah!" he sCreamed out in agony. He fell to his knees. She caught him before he fell. In a moment Luke was there, supporting him as well. "Now, you are going to tell us everything you know about this so called Pugwis, and what he wants with Kenoti." said Luke. "He doesn't want anything from Kenoti." The guard then hesitated. "Come on, you can tell us." said Naiteiri. The guard still wouldn't speak. "Tell us now!" demanded Naiteiri. "Pugwis knew he would come. He knew Skywa-" He fell silent as death took him. He had been shot with a poison dart. Everyone looked behind them. A dug was running away. Naiteiri forced the guard's blaster into her hand, and fired at the dug. "Blaster bolts! What is wrong with me? I just did the same thing he did!" cried Naiteiri.

"Oh, look, another Skywalker trait." said none too happily. "What do you mean?" asked Naiteiri. "Well, you know. You, me, and this guard; my father, Obi-Wan, and Zam," explained Luke. "Who knows, maybe Boba Fett is a part of this." joked Naiteiri.

"Okay… I see that you…are not laughing." said Naiteiri, as she stoped laughing.

"Well, now that the dugs have come, and made their unsuccesfull attack, I think we should all go inside and get some much neede rest. We will talk more in the morning. Tomorrow we will regroup with the others, and confront Pugwis." said Luke. Everyone gladly agreed.

No one saw the last dug still remaining in the shadows.


End file.
